TYC Cabin Air Filter for TOYOTA Corolla (2003-2007), Matrix (2003-2007)

The dealer wanted to charge me $69 for the filter plus placing it in the car. I paid 11.99 for this and it took me 3 minutes to install it. Don't give your money to the dealer, when he told me the price I said don't do it, it is too much, he said: "The price is more for getting to it, it is behind the glove compartment, it is hard to get there". It is not hard, it is quick, you just need a screw driver, I know nothing about cars, but this was a piece of cake.

The original Toyota part is about $25, and my dealer was charging me $75 to replace it. The change interval is almost yearly, and when my car was new, this filter was near $50 each.

The Tyc filter looks like the original but is less rigid. It is frameless and light weight. It is an all fiber or paper like filter much like a HEPA filter. It doesn't say exactly what size particulate it filters: HEPA is 0.3um while the smallest pollen grain is 6um.

Anyone handy with a screwdriver can change a Toyota cabin filter; the Tyc even comes with photo instructions on how to do it.

When inserted, it does not have the same perfect click-on fit as the original, but it fits and works.

One major advantage of these filters is it keeps the climate control ducting & pathway clean and dust free. You don't breathe these items either, but you do when you walk on the street. In my older filter-less cars, I'd find leaves, bugs and debris, whole or in parts, inside the ducts that occasionally blew into the passenger compartment, but the ducts always worked strongly. Now, cabin filters block up after a year or earlier and annoyingly the airflow into the car drops, mandating check of filter status.

The vent actuators on my car are motor driven, versus simple cable/mechanical knobs in other cars. They could seize if dirty, and is one reason to have a cabin filter; a dirty clogged filter is better than none. Also, past 6 years old, my car does not drip condensate under the car, and this shows that the cleanliness of filtered air at least prevents this, and later rust, from happening.

I haven't changed my original cabin filter in 6 years. I don't think it needs to changed as frequently as the service interval suggests. To compare, I removed the filter yearly or when I feel the flow down [occasionally it sucks up big leaf parts], check the air flow, clean the filter with compressed air blowing out leaves, bugs, big dirt etc., install it, check the air flow, and, well, good as new after cleaning except recently, it now being 6 years old. Overall I think I should have changed it at 5 years.

The original Toyota filter is not called a HEPA filter either. If one is allergic to things, a cabin filter should be a true HEPA filter.

If you always run with the car windows shut and air conditioner 'on' as you drive, then you could keep the air quality inside your car hermetic especially if you recirculate it as much as possible. But, if you like driving with car windows open, these "pollutants" or allergens bypass your car's filtered air. Imagine having a filter like this installed in a convertible.

Anyway, you can extend the life of a less dirty filter by blowing debris out with compressed air. If the filter indeed neutralizes chemical vapors it will discolor more than black, such as sulfide emissions.

My old filter was mostly black and had fine dust particles, fibers and hair on it. No sign of neutralized gas based pollutants.

So what does the cabin filter do overall? At least, the Tyc's $12 filter beats the Toyota $25 filter to protect the airconditioning system from large debris and it keeps the vent ducts clean. Whether it keeps the car occupants healthy through cleaner air I can't say.

Only time will tell if the Tyc filter cracks, deforms, and leaks dust into the cabin. I'll have this year to find out. It is made much like the original, so my guess it will last. I know a few Toyota owners who just cut a hole in the original filter and cover it with an plastic screen, and carry on. Others make their own filters using better grade home airconditioning filters for less money, and cut it to fit!

For the price, you get a great replacement filter that does as good a job as the OEM from Toyota. The filter is not as thick as the OEM part, but will do just as good a job picking up the bad particles in the air.

Replace your cabin air filter every 12,000 miles, or if you start to smell something musty when you turn the AC or Heat on.

Excellent product! The toyota dealer charges you about $27 for this cabin air filter... plus an installation fee. This is sooo simple to install in your glove compartment within minutes. The filter even comes with instructions with pictures. It is totally worth the $10.99 and its shipped right to your door!